1136 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



March 15, 1906. 



at all. My foreman differs from me in 

 regard to lime and 1 would like to have 

 your opinion. Also, would you continue 

 to add lime to soil pile, etc.? L. E. 



i'rofessor Lindley in his Theory of 

 Horticulture says that ' ' where lime is 

 mixed with decaying matter it hastens 

 its decomposition and renders it more 

 easily assimilated by plants. This is 

 its chief horticultural value, if regarded 

 as a manure. To some plants, such as 

 many conifers, rhododendrons, heaths, 

 etc., it is injurious. To others it appears 

 to be an indispensable article of food, 

 such as potatoes, barley, peas, etc. ' ' 



Although lime itself is thus apparently 

 a necessary element in the food of many 

 plants, it is more e.specially valuable in 

 soils by rendering other constituents val- 

 uable and reducing them to a state in 

 which they may be absorbed and assimi- 

 lated. 



in applying lime to soil some caution 

 is necessary, as it possesses the impor- 

 tant property of setting free the am- 

 monia contained tlierein, which is one of 

 the indispensable couHtituents of plant 

 food. Some limes contain a very large 

 proportion of magnesia, which, absorb- 

 ing carbonic acid very slowly, remains 

 in a caustic state, to the injury of the 

 roots of the plants. TJnie rubbish is the 

 old mortar and plaster obtained from 

 old buildings and is an excellent manure, 

 abounding with salts of potash and lime. 

 It should be reduced to powder before 

 using. R. 



THE READERS' CORNER. 



More About Price Cutting. 



1 was especially interested in tiie com- 

 ments on price cutting in your issue ot 

 March 1, as one firm of this city has 

 a bad attack of the same fell disease. 

 They have been at it for several weeks 

 now but the rest of us are all ho.vang 

 to our usual standard of j)rices, which 

 is fully double theirs. One member of 

 the firm is reported to have made the 

 statement that they intended to put at 

 least one store out of business; but so 

 far we are all at our respective stands 

 and, to the best of my knowledge, are 

 all eating three meals per day as here- 

 tofore. I may add that one member ot 

 the firm is a retired Congregational min- 

 ister, and another is a deacon, so it may 

 welf be that they are actuated by feel- 

 ings of charity, especially in regard to 

 putting their competitors out of bus! 

 ness. Way Ot't We.st. 



GALAX LEAVES, 



(ialax ajiliylla is well known as a use- 

 ful plant for moist nooks at the base 

 of a rock garden, and we often see it 

 exhibited in collections of hardy plants. 

 Yet, as far as 1 know, no attempt has 

 been made to cultivate it in the British 

 Isles for its leaves, says a writer in the 

 Horticultural Advertiser. It seems to me 

 that in suitable positions it should pay 

 to grow for its leaves, which are now 

 so much in use by florists. The foliage 

 we now get in tlie market conies from 

 America, and after traveling lasts longer 

 than most English foliage that is used. 

 We get the deep bronzy reddish brown 

 leaves, also some with a bright green 

 Biirf ace ; the latter are probably grown in 

 the shade, while those with the bronzy 

 tint may be grown where they are fully 

 exposed to the sun. I have recently noted 

 wreaths, crosses, etc., with the bases 

 made up entirely of the galax leaves, 



with a few flowers standing upon one 

 portion only. I find the leaves are also 

 extensively used for garnishing fruit 

 dishes, etc. Although I have seen it 

 with fairly good bronzy foliage in this 

 country, the leaves have not been so 

 large and bright as those from Amer- 

 ica. The slender spikes of pure white 

 flowers are very pretty. Another name 

 by which it is sometimes known is 

 Blandfordia cordata. It is a native of 

 (Jarolina, and was introduced into this 

 country in 1786. 



NEW YORK. 



The Market. 



The market had many ups and downs, 

 with the downs in the lead, during the 

 past week. A miniature blizzard Satur- 

 day, Avith an hour or so of ' ' the beauti- 



ralVERY now and then a well- 

 y's pleased reader speaks the word 

 which is the means of bringing a new 

 advertiser to 



E 



HcV/E«''^i 



'^S. 



Such friendly assistance is thoroughly 

 appreciated. 



Give us the name of anyone from 

 whom you are buying, not an adver- 

 tiser. We especially wish to interest 

 those selling articles of florists' use 

 not at present advertised. 



FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO. 

 520-40 Caxtoo Bldg. Chicago 



fill,'' was the only reminder of March 

 ll' eighteen years ago. Some of the old 

 fellows remember it, but it is wonderful 

 how the new generation is developing in 

 the wholesjile section. There is room for 

 all in this rapidly growing metropolis 

 and the veterans still hold their own. 

 Some of them have been here for over 

 thirty years, several of them twenty. 



With so much liuilding going on 

 around us, what will the growers do to 

 dispose of the outjiut? They build and 

 Idiild until one may safely say of build- 

 ing there is no end. Immense houses, 

 too, some of them. Two up at Scar- 

 lioro, of the U-bar kind, fifty-five feet 

 wide, are going up soon for the F. H. 

 I'iersoii Co., inspired doubtless by the 

 Winsor carnation. T'|) the Hudson, at 

 Khinebeck es])ecially, coming events cast 

 their shadows, and as long as the soil 

 holds out you may as well reckon on 

 fifty n(>w greenhouses yearly right in the 

 \ iolet section. 



Speaking of violets, last week was a 

 stunner. The best of them at times fell 

 to 40 cents, and as to the left-overs, it 

 seems a shame to put the curbstone 

 merchants in competition with the legiti- 

 mate stores and let them have the goods 

 at $1 per thousand, doesn't it? And yet 

 tiiat is better than the ash can, for every 

 flower does its silent work in behalf of 

 the public taste for the beautiful in na- 

 ture. 



Lent is quite a menace this year; more 



so than usual. It seems as though the 

 more religion one has, the more flowers 

 he should have in his home! This sack- 

 cloth-and-ashes business I don't believe 

 in. Some day Lent will go out of 

 fashion. 



This fine, clear weather will help the 

 Beauties — if not in value, in quantity. 

 Bare as the market was last week, few 

 flowers went above 50 cents. Some of 

 the finest I saw over at hicks & Craw- 

 buck's, in Brooklyn, and 50 cents was 

 top. I won't be surprised to see them 

 40 cents everywhere before this week .is 

 over. 



Carnations are very abundant and the 

 price is lower, though finer stock never 

 reached the ISIew York market. Of bul- 

 bous stock there is no limit. Lucky some 

 of the wholesale stores and ice boxes are 

 so large. Pretty soon everybody will 

 have to have one like that of Ford Bros., 

 as big as a house. • 



Wliat an Easter this is going to be. 

 Everybody is expectant and hopeful. 

 The plantsmen are all grandly stocked 

 and buyers are already placing orders. 



Lilies are coming fast. One would 

 imagine Easter here to see them. Stock 

 looks excellent and promises well. Lit- 

 tle disease and little loss in any of the 

 big houses around New York. What's 

 tlie use of talking of bulbous stock ; It 

 talks for itself on every side. In every 

 window there is enough and to spare. 



Saturilay was a fine day among the 

 retailers, a sort of evening up for the 

 week by Providence, with plenty of din- 

 ners and funerals to make them all con- 

 tented. 



Qub Meeting. 



At the meeting of the Florists' Club 

 March 12 business was expedited in be- 

 half of the great program in store. Thir- 

 teen new members were elected and six 

 were nominated. Mr. O'Mara referred to 

 his visit to Washington, with reference to 

 free seed distribution. He moved that 

 the secretary be instructed to send let- 

 ters to the New York congressmen re- 

 questing their influence toward having 

 the evil abolished, which was unanimous- 

 ly carried. 



The exhibits were choice and varied. 

 Henry Metz, of Glen Cove, brought a 

 magnificent specimen of Asparagus 

 Sprengeri in a bamboo basket. He re- 

 ceived a cultural certificate. Guttman & 

 Weber sent a fine vase of Victory and 

 received the thanks of the club, later 

 distributing the flowers among the fifty 

 ladies j)resent. 



Lager & Hurrell displayed tweflty-five 

 varieties of orchids, some very valuable. 

 They receiv(>d a cultural certificate. Ju- 

 lius Roehrs Co. exhibited cattleyas, calan- 

 thes and other orchids, one plant valued 

 at .$500. They received a cultural certi- 

 ficate. Both firms deserve great credit 

 for their generous interest in the club, 

 the weather being unfavorable for ship- 

 ment and many of the specimens being 

 of great value. 



The lecture by Prof. Nash, of the 

 Bronx park conservatories, was most in- 

 structive and interesting and its value 

 was enhanced by many colored slides. 

 Mr. Sander, of London, England, gave 

 an address on the experiences of his 

 father in orchid growing. Peter C'rowe 

 and Phil Breitmeyer were present, but 

 with their usual modesty could not be 

 coaxed to address the crowd. 



The commissary department not only 

 supplied a splendid collation for the la- 

 dies and a roast beef festival for the 

 men, but a musical entertainment far 



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